Conveyors of various sorts are ubiquitous in industry. Various types of conveyors are known, but belt conveyors are extremely common and are used for the transport of large quantities of goods. Such conveyors commonly comprise a supporting framework on which an endless belt is supported. The belt is directly supported on rollers, which may be driving rollers or idler rollers. These rollers are generally cylindrical in shape and are rotatably supported on a bearing shaft or on stub axles for rotation about their longitudinal axes. Where products such ores or minerals are conveyed in large quantities, the conveyor is often shaped so that when viewed in profile it has a trough or dished shape. This requires that the driving and idler rollers are configured to maintain the belt in this shape.
Of course, conveyor systems, particularly those in use in conveying heavy goods such as ores or minerals, are subject to breakdown and require maintenance. In order to perform this maintenance on the belt, rollers, roller bearings or framework of the conveyor, it has in the past been necessary to stop the conveyor, remove the goods being transported by the conveyor from a substantial portion thereof and then to lift the belt so as to repair the belt itself or to gain access to the roller or rollers systems or framework. This requires the use of substantial labour and leads to significant down-time for the conveyor. Accordingly, it would be an advantage to provide a device to facilitate the maintenance of a belt type conveyor without having to remove large quantities of goods from the conveyor and without requiring the dismantling of large sections of the conveyor. It will also be appreciated that belt type conveyors are often accessible from one side of the conveyor only, by way of a walkway or the like. It would therefore be a further advantage to provide that the said device were operable from one proximal side of the conveyor without the need to access the distal side of the conveyor.